Inhomogeneous hydrogen deflagration characteristics in the large-scale enclosed chamber

The cognition of the inhomogeneous hydrogen deflagration process in enclosed chambers is important for assessing the deflagration hazard in ships. The impact of inhomogeneous hydrogen concentration on the hydrogen deflagration characteristics in an L-shaped large-scale enclosed chamber is investigated by focusing on hydrogen concentration distribution, flame propagation speed, deflagration overpressures, and temperature through numerical simulation and experimental methods. When the vent valve opens, there is an upper limit to the hydrogen concentration in the chamber. The concentration peak difference between the top wall and the bottom wall is 7.7%. The hydrogen deflagration degree aggravates with increase in hydrogen concentrations. The flame propagation speed and flame brightness increase significantly when the flame propagates from the horizontal orientation to the vertical orientation. The deflagration overpressure in the chamber increases from 148 kPa to 481 kPa with increase in hydrogen concentration from 8.3% to 27.4%.